Too many states in our union, and even our nation itself, have cut funding for public education to the point of eating their seed corn. And they have done so around the rallying cry of low, low, bargain-basement taxes. It seems there is no bottom to the desire to avoid paying taxes. This is neither wise nor fiscally conservative. It is, instead, selfish. There is a difference between fiscal conservativism and selfishness.
All in Faith & Culture
10 things we’re learning about the LGBTQ debate in the church
Our congregation went through 18 months of intense study, prayer and dialogue about LGBTQ inclusion, and we have the scars to show for it. And we would have had scars regardless of which way the decision went. But we are better for choosing the good over the easy.
Hiding behind the flag
This is the column in which a Baptist pastor will wax eloquent about a play that involves pot-smoking, cursing, sex, anti-war protests and nudity. Now that I have your attention ….
If you're not outraged ...
For many Christians, there’s so much to be outraged about that it’s hard to narrow the list: Fears for women, fears for immigrants, threats against religious liberty, threats against dissenters, fear about this, fear about that. All while a large swath of the evangelical Christian population acts as though God’s will is finally being done to address their years of outrage.
Don't blame Trump for your bad behavior
Kids don’t show up at school and suddenly say racist things to their classmates because of who won a presidential election; most often they repeat what they’ve heard at home. College students don’t suddenly start yelling racial epithets on a Baptist campus out of the blue; they’ve heard these threats go unchallenged somewhere else before. Adults don’t just show up at church and behave differently than they do other places; often they reveal themselves in times of stress or opportunity.
It's an odd time to be a male
I’ve reminded myself that as a young professional I had to learn the hard way that not every joke a guy might want to tell is actually funny. For example, it’s wise to avoid any joke that mentions PMS and livestock in the same sentence. I was 26. And boy, did I learn a lesson that day — one that has stuck with me for nearly 30 years.
How will you use your privilege?
What would happen if someone voted based on what would benefit his neighbor more than what would benefit himself? What would happen if someone watched the stock market with concern about what was happening to vulnerable people more than what would benefit her own portfolio? What would happen if someone used their platform of privilege to speak out on behalf of those who cannot be heard rather than demanding more rights for his own tribe?
The problem with not talking about politics at church
Here’s the problem with saying we must never talk about politics at church: We immediately cede to politicians the right to define what is political and what is theological. And then the church loses its voice on theology because important biblical concepts have been wrongly labeled “politics” and therefore off limits.
Painful lessons from a pastor's transgender post
“Does God still love me?”
That is one of the most painful questions I have been asked in the past two weeks after writing a commentary that went viral and made me a most unlikely spokesperson for the transgender community and their families. As a result of that post being read by more than 1 million people either online or in print, I have heard the personal stories of people from all over the country. In two weeks’ time, I have exchanged personal correspondence with more than 400 people.
Seven things I'm learning about transgender persons
With the help of a pediatrician friend and a geneticist friend, I’m listening and trying to learn. This is hard, though, because understanding the transgender experience seems so far outside what I have ever contemplated before. And the more I learn, the more theological questions I face as well. This is hard, even for a pastor.